Wednesday, June 20, 2007

ten commandments of driving

hailmaryontheinterstatehighwayHere are the “Drivers’ Ten Commandments” as listed by the Vatican’s Office for Migrants and Itinerant People: 1. You shall not kill.2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are in a fitting condition to do so.7. Support the families of accident victims.8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.10. Feel responsible toward others Before we begin the commentary, why is this issued by “the Vatican’s Office for Migrants and Itinerant People”. I mean, if you are a legal citizen of the country you reside in, you can drive any way you want? That is the way man Jesus Worshippers already drive.As the bumper sticker says, “Drive like hell and you will get there”Now, this is not the ten I would have chosen. “Thou shalt not tailgate" comes to mind. Maybe Italy and Germany are not as cell phone happy as America, but in this country we need a reminder to hang up and drive. "The liberating experience of forgiveness" seldom happens as the result of a lawsuit."Thou shalt pray with thy eyes open while driving" is a no brainer. Especially when a big haired woman is tailgating you, while talking on her cell phone. You can be certain she is not talking to G-d or Jesus. Nonetheless, this is a step in the right direction. While I am not fond of the Catholic variety of Jesus Worship, I know for a fact that Protestants make all sorts of noise about vague sins of the spirit, and ignore driving. I have long wondered why bad driving was not considered a moral issue on the level of sex and drug use.One of the first things I learned in drivers ed was that ministers as an occupation group have a terrible driving record. While this may be an urban legend, it does ring true. I do know that many terrible drivers have chrome fish on their vehicles. Now, when you put a fish or bumper sticker about Jesus on your car, your driving makes a statement about Jesus. And often not a pretty one.Jesus Worshippers think they can treat people just as rotten as they please, and it is ok because Jesus forgives them. With over 50k useless deaths every year on the roads, and untold injuries and nerve damage, you would think the church would take an interest. But, it is more fun to campaign against gay marriage and abortion. This is a failure in moral leadership by the church. Of course, this is the Catholic church speaking here, and many Protestants don't think they are really Christians. While I am not ready to convert, the Ten Commandments of Driving are a start. postscript- While reading a story about Tim Leary, Hunter S. Thompson, and G. Gordon Liddy, I consulted the wikipedia article about Mr. Liddy. I found this gem. For many years Liddy was agnostic, but he has converted to Roman Catholicism. Maybe he got tailgated by one protestant too many.